KUCHING, Sept 28: PBS which won seven seats in the just concluded Sabah state election is in the position of to be the kingmaker amidst the ongoing uncertainty over the appointment of Sabah’s chief minister.
According to Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, besides Sabah Constitution Article 6(7) which states that the chief minister should be appointed from the party which has the most seats, the stark reality is that no single party has garnered the simple majority of 37 seats to be ‘first-past-the-post’ to form the Sabah state government.
Currently, the the loose collation of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) has 38 seats, consisting of Perikatan Nasional (PN) with 17 seats; Barisan Nasional (BN) (14 seats); Warisan-Plus (32 seats) and independents (3).
“Hence, the next option is a coalition of parties that can command majority support in the DUN (Sabah Legislative Assembly). On this count , it’s a free-for-all until the most formidable numbers emerge.
“Will it be: Option A: 17+14+7+3 = 41? Or Option B: 29+7+3+1 = 40? I don’t have to identify the parties by names, but the bloc which contested under its own logo and won seven seats will be the kingmaker,” Masing opined in a statement today.
He asserted that Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) is actually free to decide on its own as it has no strings attached to any of the major power blocs, whether PN, BN or Warisan-Plus.
“If it swings away from Option A, then the number of seats in PN and BN will be reduced to 31, failing in simple majority again,” he reiterated.
The Deputy Chief Minister pointed out that Warisan-Plus had failed to win in most of its Kadazan, Dusun and Murut (KDM) seats.
“Warisan (Parti Warisan Sabag) missed the KDM ward in its mix. But by continuing to confront and alienate itself from federal rapport, it will make Sabahans’ life untenable.
“(So), ultimately, Sabahans will have to dip into their wisdom to decide what’s best. And it has to be done in the next 24 hours,” he concluded. — DayakDaily
